Rumsfeld responds to Woodward's charges

Donald Rumsfeld’s chief of staff says Bob Woodward is promoting “a one-sided narrative of events” about the Iraq War and accuses him of putting “his storyline ahead of the facts.”

It’s the latest volley in the back-and-forth between the former secretary of defense and one of Washington’s most well-known journalists.

On Monday, Woodward called Rumsfeld’s recently released memoir “one big clean-up job, a brazen effort to shift blame to others -- including President Bush -- distort history, ignore the record or simply avoid discussing matters that cannot be airbrushed away.” He went on to highlight contradictions in Rumsfeld’s account of the Iraq War and charged him with “ducking and weaving and dodging responsibility.”

Keith Urbahn, Rumsfeld’s chief of staff, doesn’t address any of Woodward’s arguments about the Iraq War or Rumsfeld’s leadership in executing it.

He accuses Woodward of favoring “those who provide him with information and gossip and leak against their colleagues. Those who refuse to play along, such as Donald Rumsfeld, then pay the price.”

Woodward’s reporting “is little more than self-serving accounts relying on anonymous or biased sources who often had little role in decision-making,” he adds.

“They were all on the outside listening to people two or three levels down,” Rumsfeld said about Woodward and Tom Ricks, another journalist who has written on the Iraq War. “No, I’ve not read their books.”

He [Woodward] went on to highlight contradictions in Rumsfeld’s account of the Iraq War and charged him with “ducking and weaving and dodging responsibility.”

Keith Urbahn, Rumsfeld’s chief of staff, doesn’t address any of Woodward’s arguments about the Iraq War or Rumsfeld’s leadership in executing it.

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Those two passages and the fact that Rumsfeld's chief of staff makes no atempts to discredit any of Woodward's detailed points tells me that Woodward was right on the money. Like any dispute if a person can't argue point by point on the facts they move on to trying to assisinate the character of the person they're arguing with.

I have actually read Rumsfeld's book. I liked it from several standpoints. First, Rumsfeld presented in depth the conflict between himself and Colin Powell. It's a wonder things were not worse than they turned out to be because of this highly dysfunctional relationship. Powell and Rumsfeld were constantly infighting and Powell and Rice usually won with Bush. Secondly, Rumsfeld's accounts (whether you agree with him or not) were highly detailed and documented. Bush's book was extremely simplistic in comparison.

Simply enough, Rumsfeld sees justification only in what he does within the confines of his job. Everyone else is an outsider who doesn't know what's going on. To include the president, the press, and the people.

Sorry, but outside viewpoints do matter. It's what threw you out of the job. If you don't respect what other people think you're doing, you very soon won't be doing it anymore.

Most people reading this already are aware but, in the interest of disclosure - never mind honesty - wouldn't it have been appropriate to identify just who "one of Washington’s most well-known journalists" is associated with?

It's good that we are finally getting to read Donald Rumsfeld's own views on the issues on which he has been so extensively attacked by his critics. I am looking forward to reading his book to see if it squares with his outstanding previous service in the Ford Administration.

Dumbsfeld attempt to clear his act of lies, incompetence, and stupidity is as dumb as Dick-Head Cheney trying to portray himself as a courageous, blood-and-guts commando.
Remember the “Aw and shock” b.s., or the assertion that “Iraqis will run to us thanking us as liberators.”
Remember that Dumbf.uck?

How do you spell "megalomaniac"? His delusions of grandure nearly cost the country its economic viability! History will be the great leveler of truth in this and many other instances. Goodbye and Farewell Forever Donnie!

Rumsfeld should go back into hiding. He has done more than enough damage already. Before we canonize the late Gerald Ford with sainthood he doesn't deserve we should remember that Ford boosted both Rumsfeld and Cheney to their positions of influence. Without Ford, those two idiots might never have been able to do all the damage they did in later years.

Thank you Woodward for calling Rumsfeld's on his fingerpointing. Shrugging off responsbility for the complete mess they've made of everything to do with America seems to be disease of the Bush/Cheney administration and everyone connected with it. If none of them are responsible for anything that happened from 2000-20008, then who did cause the Iraq War? The near depression we're in? The blatant takeover of America by corporations and the rich? Who wiped away budget surpluses and caused record deficits? I guess it wasn't Bush or anyone in his disgraceful and devious administration if you are to believe anything in their books.

Rummy sure underestimates the intelligence of the American people. We have been following the falsehoods for years, and now he is trying to tell us that black is white. Only believers for him are over at Fox Cable.

It's amazing that Rumsfeld says Woodward is presenting the "one sided narrative of events" which is exactly what Rumsfeld's memoir is. Considering the grand lie, created by Rumsfeld and his ilk [the presence of Weapons of Mass Destruction] that took us into Iraq in the first place, he shouldn't complain so loudly. If Woodward has any axe to grind, it's for our benefit as we continue to pay for this war every day. May it serve as a reminder not to do this again.

It was Colin Powell who insisted on going to the Security Council for another scrap of paper, approving a US response to Saddam Hussein's violations of the cease fire.

And it was Colin Powell who decided to make WMD's the central argument for his case

Don Rumsfeld did what he was asked to do, despite a failure by the State Department to get Turkish approval for US forces to stage in Turkey and attack Iraq from the north.

History will show Don Rumsfeld was a great man and a reasonably good secretary of defense. It will NOT be so kind to Colin Powell, no matter how many books Bob Woodward writes that try to make Powell the hero of the age.

I remember that arrogant sob Rumsfeld dismissing a British offer to help right after 9-11. He went on to prove that he was an incompetent leader as well when he blamed low level military people for the Abu Ghraib scandal. Don't need Bob Woodward to tell us about Rumsfeld. We remember. Actually I do think many Americans are stupid. How else can you explain why we gave the Cheney Adminstration a second term after getting us into an unnecessary war in Iraq?

Rumsfeld thought he would go on his book tour to sell that so-called book without being called out, please. Rumsfeld knows he and Dick Cheney needs to be in court answering questions about their lack of truth in causing us to be in 2 wars that have killed too many innocent men and women. I pray that they both continue to hear folks called them out on their lack of facts and fairness; the nerve that they can walk away when so many hearts are still breaking from loosing their love ones, unnecessarily. Rumsfeld and Cheney need to pray for forgiveness and admit they did NOT care when they lied to get our country into these wars. Additionally, BUsh shares in these tragic deafs just as much as the other two. PLEASE VOTE IN 2012 TO ENSURE THAT WE PUT THE REPUBLICANS IN THE MINORITY AND VOTE OUT THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS THAT MAY BE UP FOR RE-ELECTION.

TO: JBaustian who wrote:
“It was Colin Powell who insisted on going to the Security Council for another scrap of paper … And it was Colin Powell who decided to make WMD's the central argument for his case…”

TO: JBaustian who wrote:
“It was Colin Powell who insisted on going to the Security Council for another scrap of paper … And it was Colin Powell who decided to make WMD's the central argument for his case…”

No matter WHAT Rumsfeld says . . . . BOTTOM LINE IS that He, bush, cheney, tenet, rice, rove and wolfowitz,et al., MURDERED more than 4,500 of OUR servicemen, mangled tens of thousands more and slaughtered and maimed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children --- Based on erroneous information (their lies) and Bush's pre-9/11 determination to become a swaggering War President. They should be placed on trial in Geneva as War Criminals, and in the USA as Traitors! And spend the rest of their lives in jail or better yet executed by firing squad!

The neo-cons decided that we should occupy Iraq long before there ever was a Bush administration. Check out the
Project For A New American Century(PNAC). See who signed it, and the date that it was signed. The whole cast of neo-cons that ended up in the regime were signees.

I would like to read Rumsfeld's book but I will not contribute to the SOB by buying it.
I would just like to know how he justifies first invading Iraq, then not bringing enough soldiers and finally completely blowing the occupation.
If you look at Rumsfeld's history, it is easy to tell he is just one of those authoritarian conservatives just chuck full of unjustified selfconfidence.
I have know a hundred managers just like him.
He is personally responsible for the unnecessary deaths of thousands of people and he feels absolutely no remorse.
If there is a hell, he will burn there for eternity.

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